Da Vinci and the Modern Female Portait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Da Vinci and the Modern Female Portait - Essay Example Renaissance art portrayal is a naturalistic reflection of realities that is recent in terms of discovery, rather than just framed myths and gender-based constructions. Leonardo’s art portrayal was regarded as abnormal in social terms. He presented through art, a view of female sex, which was culturally abnormal in the patriarchy of his day. To them, a woman is an intelligent being, and therefore biologically equals half of human species. Earliest portraits preserved by Leonardo, referred to as Ginevra de’Benci, done in the late 1470s, puts forth a fundamentally new female age. It portrays a sitter posed in a three-quarter view and it engages the eye of the observer. Portraits done by Northern Renaissance painters indicates a preoccupation with realism and having a precise detail of physiognomy and the costume. This kind of approach is a characteristic of panels by the Flemish masters Rogier van der Weydan and Hans Memling (Victoria 100) High Middle Ages evolution of portraiture reached its crescendo in the fifteenth century. This was the period during which greatest masters of artistic illusionism begun to appear in Europe. Italian Renaissance painters discovered the use of textural properties of oil painting. Leonardo da Vinci was famous for his portraits that were life-like in their realism. He used to learn entirely from nature and science to make his paintings look real. He drew and took many notes from observation, since he believed that it is the basis of knowledge. Leonardo was among the first Italian Renaissance to use the three-quarter pose instead of the popular profile. His subjects had unique facial expressions that challenged viewers. The new technique he invented-chiaroscuro and sfumato, also brought his subjects to life (Patrick McDonnell 56) Rogier van der Weyden transcends the concept of naturalism formal or informal,

Research Topics with Explanation Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Topics with Explanation - Research Paper Example overnment is in a dilemma of either eliminating farm subsidies on the basis that the farmers have the capacity to fund their activities, or increasing this funding for the better of the country. The debate about nuclear energy has been ongoing for a long time. Thus, there are many resource materials about this topic. Additionally, many people have interest on issues concerning nuclear power. Information gathered would be highly invaluable to me and other people as well. The world faces a mounting task of preserving energy sources as the needs for energy keeps on rising. Scientists have proved that nuclear energy is one of the most clean and efficient sources of energy available to humankind. The same scientists are quick to add that the use of this source of energy pose the greatest threat to the same people it is supposed to be benefiting. Crime rates in America is said to be one of the highest in the World. The fact that it is affecting the minor is even more worrying. A lot of research has been done on the issues facilitating this kind of behavior. Communities living in the U.S are very much aware of this situation. Although the government is doing a lot to help the situation, they seem to be failing in the mission. This topic has the potential to provide an understanding of the problems young people are facing and how to respond to them. It is with no doubt that, there has been an upward trend of minor getting involved in violent criminal activities. However, the debate has been whether these kids should be held responsible for their action or simply put the blame on some other

Concept Of Relationship Marketing Marketing Essay

Concept Of Relationship Marketing Marketing Essay The following report will look at IKEAs relationship marketing with its key community groups in Coventry (see appendix 1 for company background). The concept of relationship marketing, summary of audit findings, pressure groups, developing a co-ordinated communication mix and finally methods to measure success of communication mix are considered. 2. CONCEPT OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING Early 80s was the emergence of the concept relationship marketing as an influential issue in the marketing literature. Bund Jackson is recorded as having used the term relationship marketing in 1970s in the field of industrial marketing (Gumesson et al., 1997). As IKEA strives to remain competitive in the business market, the company is moving away from transactional marketing that is based on a single, short-time exchange with a distinct beginning and ending towards a focus on retention of customers, establishing loyalty and building long-term relationships. According to Kotlet et al (2008 )relationship marketing is the process of creating, maintaining and enhancing strong, value-laden relationships with customers and other stakeholders IKEA is also active in establishing and maintaining a beneficial relationship with the communities by adopting corporate citizen values and approaches. Benefits from relationship marketing for IKEA are: Loyalty and retention Loyal community groups will recommend IKEAs business to others by positive, word-of-mouth communications which in terms will lead to business expansion. Christopher et al (2002) suggest that loyalty and retention can be achieved using relationship marketing ladder of loyalty: partner, prospect, purchaser, client, supporter, advocate and partner. Competitive advantage Good community relations programmes will add value to the IKEAs corporate social responsibility (CSR), thus differentiating from competitors CSR activities. Support for marketing activity IKEAs active community relations will create a positive image to the company by planned marketing communications. The basis of any relationship is based upon trust, commitment and co-operation. Morgan and Hunt (1994) with their model of what builds trust suggest that relationship commitment and trust are key variables for successful relationships because they promote cooperative behaviors between relationship partners and encourage them to maintain long-term relationships. Relationship commitment Co-operation Trust Figure 1.1. Three dynamics to trust within a relationship by Morgan and Hunt (1994) Once trust is formed the opportunity arises for relationship commitment and it is through this co-operation successful outcomes can be gained. In order to develop trust, commitment and co-operation IKEA should consider the following: Service encounter. Using face-to face interaction with key community groups such as site and neighbourhood community IKEA will result in a higher level of satisfaction, and a long-term commitment on behalf of both parties to the relationship. Collaboration. Collaboration in terms of sharing information, solving problems and an acceptance of compromise will establish long-term relationships between community groups and IKEA. Transparency. Relationship transparency has been suggested as a potential source of competitive advantage in business markets (Bliemel and Eggert, 1998). By informing, delivering value and satisfaction to the community groups IKEA will gain a competitive advantage. Creation of value. Community satisfaction implies that needs of community groups are being met by IKEA, for example, supporting local events, and environmental concerns. If they are not satisfied, they will withdraw their support and thus damaging corporate image of IKEA. 3. SUMMARY OF AUDIT FINDINGS IKEA is involved in a number of local, social and environmental projects in communities in the countries where they do business. The majority of IKEAs projects support children, homeless, student scholarships and environmental projects on climate change and the protection of natural resources. Different community groups may have some impact in one way or another on the company. An audit was undertaken to identify key community groups of IKEA, and to assess the nature and level of their impact on IKEAs relationship marketing and potential future use of relationship marketing. (For research methodology and detailed findings, see Appendix 2.) By grouping community groups in the power/interest matrix, IKEA may achieve a better picture on how communication and relationships between various community groups should be developed to reach agreement about and acceptance for the project and its implementation. Key community groups identified by the audit are the following: Site community The site community is defined by its geographical boundaries, thus it is a city or town where the company and any of its major facilities are located. (Burke E, 1999, p 61) Fenceline community The neighbourhood community is made up of the immediate neighbours surrounding the property of the company. (Burke E, 199, p 62) Workplace community Workplace community includes staff of IKEA. Local media: local press in Coventry The media provides focus and attention on many areas of corporate strengths and weakness of the company. Level of influence and impact of community groups on IKEA Local universities, church groups require minimal effort and monitoring. They have low interest or power to influence current IKEA relationship plans. These groups should be informed only to a necessary extent, and not much effort should be invested into them. There is no need for excessive communication with these types of communities. Local media should be kept informed. Despite of their low power they could be powerful enemies or allies when influencing attitudes of more powerful community groups. Their interest in the project must be taken seriously through dialogue and information to make certain that the companys viewpoint is heard. They can be helpful with the detail of companys project. They publicize issues and corporate achievements and form a line of communication from the company to the community groups. Local government, pressure groups should be kept satisfied. These community groups are powerful, although their level of interest in the strategies of the organization is relatively low. They are meainly relatively passively, but may unexpectedly appear due to certain events, moving to key community groups on that issue. IKEA should put adequate work in with these community to keep them satisfied, but not bombarded with information because that they become bored with message. These groups of communities are often passive, but can exert a great impact on the project. The relationship between a relative low interest and a high level of power makes these groups difficult to handle, it is therefore necessary to analyse their intentions and to involve them according to their interest. Site community, fenceline community, workplace community are key players of the project. The site community can provide services to the company such as fire, safety, education, transportation and the like. They are significant community groups with high interest in the project and high power to influence project implementation and completion. They should be an important consideration in the appraisal of new strategies. These community groups must be involved in all relevant project developments. They are the key players IKEA must engage with fully, and make maximum efforts to satisfy them. The needs and wants for each of community groups are various. On their own, no one group can entirely influence the activities or directions of the organization. However, some group communities posses greater power comparing to others. Overall, IKEAs relationship marketing was found to be effective in the area of media and sponsoring for charities. 4. PRESSURE GROUPS: SECTIONAL AND CASUAL Pressure groups are the activists of the community groups. In general, pressure groups are social aggregates with some level of cohesion and shared aims which attempt to influence the political decision-making process. (Ball and Millard, 1986, pp. 33-4) Pressure groups can be: Sectional pressure groups (also called defensive or interest groups). Examples: professional bodies, such as the British Medical Association, Trade Unions, The Law Society, etc. Casual pressure groups (also called promotional or attitude groups). Examples: Greenpeace, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, National Rifle Association, etc. Pressure groups interest and power are given in auditing findings (see appendix 2). Difference between sectional and causal pressure groups are: Sectional pressure groups Casual pressure groups directly and personally concerned with the effect of the campaign fought by the group as they generally stand to achieve economically and/or professionally membership is usually restricted as they are concerned with a particular section of society. aspire to involve as many eligible members as possible to join the group. seek to defend the interests of a section of society aspire to represent the general interests of a particular section of society not self-interested in that the accomplishment of their objectives is not essentially of direct economic or direct benefit to the members of the group. membership is not usually restricted as they aim to promote a cause tend to have an open membership in order to gain a critical mass of popular support and strength of campaigning. aim to change peoples attitudes about a particular issue or policy Local Trade Unions encourage companies to provide training at the workplace. They protect workers of the company. According to Harris D. et al (2008) trade unions may influence and impact the company in respect of working processes on the following areas: Issues of respect- workers are often misunderstood by the boss through verbal or physical abuse. Wage and benefits- some workers are not paid according to the full value. Working condition- health and safety at the workplace is the most unifying issue a union can pursue. Working hours- unions can force the boss the hire more workers and also can ensure that in emergency cases where someone must work overtime, they are fairly compensated for it. Job security- any disciplinary action taken against a worker may be subject to a procedure negotiated with the union. Environmental pressure groups is often formed to protest about, and arrest certain undesirable environmental impacts. For example, Greenpeace stands for positive change by defending the natural world and promoting peace through action. IKEA discusses environmentally related issues with Greenpeace. To respond to environmental concerns IKEA do the following: At IKEA Coventry used batteries, paper are recycled. It also phase outs single-use plastic bags. All profits from charging for plastic carrier bag have been donated to Englands Community Forest. Through swiping IKEA Family card at the IKEA checkouts customers help save over 3 acres of forestry. 5. TWO NEW COMMUNITY GROUP RELATIONSHIPS Two new community group relationships that can be developed are: schools community and homeless community SCHOOLS COMMUNITY IKEA can focus its activity in the local community on helping local schools. The company will support learning and development of children at schools, for instance by providing new facilities. Helping children to learn and develop is an area in which IKEA has experience and can make a difference. Criteria for selection local schools to IKEA are the following: Opportunities to engage in local community acting as a good neighbor and supporting community initiatives consistent with IKEAs corporate responsibility objectives. By building communication, sharing resources, expertise, skills and developing unique solutions to community problems, these partnerships can become important. Excellent media and corporate social responsibility opportunities associated with supporting the school Sponsoring schools IKEA can attract a lot of attention from local newspapers and can provide great publicity for its business at the same time as enhancing the learning process for children. Developing relationships that can enhance long-term brand recognition So, schools are the natural hub of a neighborhood or community, and can serve as the foundation for community partnerships that will be beneficial to IKEA. However, relationship with school community should be minimal. Schools have neither high power nor influence to impact IKEAs activity. It means that IKEA may provide them with enough information that will be adequate. There is no need to spend much time with them. HOMELESS COMMUNITY IKEA may support homeless people in Coventry. For example, IKEA can establish partnership with Coventry Cyrenians which is a charity dedicated to working with homeless people or whose accommodation may be at risk. IKEAs vision is: To create a better everyday life for the many people. The many people can be homeless people that live in Coventry community. Charitable partnership is one of the ways through which IKEA may invest in the community it operates its business. IKEA supports this organisation by furnishing and decorating day-time activity centres and housing facilities with individual apartments and communal areas. In addition, co-workers of IKEA may volunteer their time. IKEA should be consistent in selection of charities to support. The criteria used for the selection of the charity are the following: Type of organization- registered charity in Coventry and surrounding areas. Primary focus is to support homeless people or people whose home may be identified as at risk for whatever reason, providing them with accommodation Should be dynamic, innovative and cost effective Any contribution from IKEA should be used by charity for the purpose for each it was given and to report effectively to the company on the process of the initiatives which companys funding has supported. the project should have a long life and be seen to actively improve homeless people 6. COMMUNICATION MIX FOR TWO COMMUNITY GROUP According to Kotler (2008) promotional mix is the specific mix of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations that a company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives. Communication mix is important because of the following: ability to use different promotional tools to reach target audience it helps to communicate a range of messages to different markets helps in achieving companys marketing objectives Communication mix should have clear objectives and target audience. Communication objectives of IKEA: 50% awareness of IKEAs community efforts for school community and homeless community in Coventry within the next twelve months. Target: community groups such as site and fenceline communities, local government in Coventry In order to achieve objective IKEA should decide what components of the communication mix is needed to utilize in communicating with school and homeless community groups. The following are suggested communication mix for two new community groups: School community- Sponsorship Sponsorship is a business relationship ad should be mutually beneficial to the sponsored individual and the sponsoring company. Many researches and authors agree that the use of sponsorship by organizations is increasing (Sneath et al., Harvey et al., 2006; 2007; Wakefield et al., 2007) and that it is becoming a more significant part of the marketing communication mix. According to Fill C (2009) sponsorship can be defined as a commercial activity, whereby one party permits another an opportunity to exploit an association with a target audience in return for funds, services or resources. Benefits for IKEA using sponsoring schools are the following: Increase brand awareness of the company among community groups. It allows brand of the company to be communicated without the clutter and noise associated with advertising. Building and enhancing positive corporate image in community groups mind As a means of reaching wider target audiences To suggest to the target audiences that there is an association between the sponsored and the sponsor and that by implication this association may be of interest and/or value. Show that a company cares about it community and is prepared to invest in its future and the welfare of its community IKEA may use sponsorship for school community. Sponsorship may last 2 years for example, sponsoring new facilities for education. Limitations: Different methods of support are applied to sponsees depending on their needs and the sponsors needs as well. This points out to a lack of standardization, and therefore requires more time on planning and evaluation. Homeless community- Donation A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. Donation for homeless community within next 2 years by donating products and home furnishing. Public Relations both for school and homeless community Public Relations is defined as the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics (Institute of Public Relations) Benefits of PR: Promotion of positive image of the company to the community group To build links with IKEAs community To oppose bad publicity PR activities will include press releases, press conferences and establishing community relationships. Limitations: Risk of losing control cannot always control what other people write or say about IKEA. Media: Local newspaper both for school and homeless community IKEA may use local newspapers of Covnetry such as Coventry Telegraph, and The Coventry Times. Coventry Telegraph is a daily newspaper in Coventry covering local news, sports, business, jobs and community events. Readers spend an average of 30 minutes reading The Telegraph. The Coventry Times is established free newspaper for the local area, providing local people with excellent information and advertising platforms. The Times reaches over 74% of houses in the Coventry area. Newspaper benefits: Gives favourable impression of the company A high profile image is lodged in the community groups mind Limitations: Short life span, circulation does not mean readership 7. MEASUREMENT OF THE SUCCES OF COMMUNICATION MIX It is essential to measure the effectiveness of each communication campaign. It is necessary to ensure that the communication objectives have been met and that the strategy has been effective and resources have been used economically. For example, advertising objective is to increase awareness of IKEA brand to 70% of the target market by 2009. Public Relations objective is to convince 80 % of community groups that the company is doing its business in a socially responsible way by 2009. Measuring and analysing the outcome of a specific interaction will help in the development of future communications and in evaluating the best methods to use. Evaluation is necessary for: Improvement of the effectiveness of different communication tools Knowing the effect of communication activities and improving needed areas IKEA will be able to reach the outcomes it seeks. Effectively engagement with audiences Throughout implementation, evaluation can help IKEA find ways to collect feedback from its community groups, how advertising is being received and learn how they are responding to various media messages. Allocation of resources wisely It provides a potential source of material for the new campaign. Evaluation can help IKEA determine whether its communication investments could be redistributed more effectively to achieve the desired results. There are many ways to measure effectiveness of each of the communication tools. The following are suggested evaluation methods: PR evaluation: quarterly Awareness of community groups about IKEAs community initiatives in Coventry community can be evaluated using marketing research through qualitative or quantitative methods. Attitude of community groups to IKEAs projects- by using research to judge if attitudes have changed positively or negatively. Media coverage and tone- can measure the number of column inches achieved, the type of headings and tone of coverage. Positioning- by measuring the position of IKEA in comparison to the competition Qualitative method: Focus group: at the end of programme According to Kotler (1999) focus group is a small sample of typical consumers under the direction of a group leader who elicits their reaction to a stimulus such as an advertising or product concept. By using in-depth interviewing skills a moderator can probe the thoughts and feelings held by the members of the group towards media vehicles or advertising messages. By negotiating a focus group to monitor the marketing communications pre-, during and post-campaign, this can help maximise the effectiveness of the campaign. Overall, results from focus groups will help us identify feelings regarding the corporate image of IKEA: brand, reputation and understand the attitudes of community groups towards IKEA. Quantitative method: survey or personal interviews: annually In order to identify the effects of the media we will use written surveys. Survey can be conducted by IKEA or consultants. By using large sample size we will be able to know concerns, community expectations, extent and quality of relationship with key community groups and company. Results will help design plans and programmes that build sustainable trust in a community. Personal interviews: quarterly A personal interview is a two-way conversation initiated by an interview to obtain information from a participant on a face-to-face basis (Cooper Schindler, 2003, p323) Limitation. Personal interviews are a lot more costly and time consuming comparing with other methods in the communication approach. Evaluation of sponsorship Media exposure measurement- to count column centimetres of coverage about the sponsorship activity achieved by IKEA Pre-testing and pos-testing of awareness in relation to sponsorship activity of IKEA Feedback from participants- quantitative feedback from community groups sponsored party and other stakeholders to determine effect on corporate image. Internal communication evaluation: monthly Feedback forms and attitude surveys may be used to gain feedback from participating staff: how effective they thought communication was; what information needs were or were not met; what effect the new role emphasis has had on their job satisfaction; etc. 8. CONCLUSION The company recognizes that supporting the community is not only a matter of morality, but it also improves a companys brand image, reputation and allows the company to gain more publicity and exposure. It is important that IKEA makes a careful selection of communication mix to communicate with key community groups. Appendix 1: Organization overview Company background IKEA is a Swedish Multi-National home furnishing Company (MNC). It was founded in Almhult, Sweden in 1943 by only a 17-year old boy Ingvar Kamprad who started selling farm implements at a reduced price under the name IKEA, which is acronym for his initials (I.K), farm (Elmtaryd) and village (Agunnaryd) where he was born and grew up. At the beginning IKEA sold small items such as food containers, pens, jewelry and watches before becoming internationally known. Due to the success of furniture line, Ingvar Kamprad decided to put an end to all the other products focusing only on furniture. In 1958, the first IKEA store was opened in Almhult, Sweden and since 1960s the IKEA stores opened outside Sweden. Nowadays, IKEA has turned into the worlds largest furniture retailer, with over 300 stores in more than 35 countries since its first outlet and visited by 600 million visitors around the world and plans to develop further. IKEA managed to double its sales significantly in a couple of years. Turnover of all IKEA stores (sales tax not included) was 22,713 million EURO in 2009. Organization structure In spite of its great expansion, IKEA is privately owned company. Ingvar Kamprad still has some control over the company through a unique organization. The IKEA corporate structure is divided into two main parts: operations and franchising. Currently, the company is owned by Stichting INGKA Foundation based in Netherlands. INGKA holding B.V. is the parent of all the companies of the IKEA Group. Every IKEA store is given the rights to operate the IKEA Concept on a defined market. IKEAs vision is: To create a better everyday life for the many people. The many people include suppliers, employees, customers, and other stakeholders affected by IKEA operations. Business idea: To offer a wide range of well- designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. IKEA does not have its own manufacturing facilities but uses subcontracted manufactures around the world. To facilitate shopping, IKEA provides catalogues, tape measures, shopping lists and website to help the consumer with fitting the furniture into the room. So, IKEAs success is based on the relatively simple idea of keeping the cost between manufactures and customers down. Target market The company targets the customer who is looking for good value and is willing to do a little bit of work serving themselves, so they pick up the furniture, carry it home and fix it themselves. The typical IKEA customer is young families and couples just starting out to middle income family. IKEA products IKEA product range is approximately 10,000 products in total. The product range of IKEA is extensive enough. It is wide in function as it sells not only furniture but also from plants and living room furnishings to toys and whole kitchens. IKEA make every effort to use renewable and recyclable materials in their products. IKEA brand and communication IKEA is one of the successful global brands associated with its unique cultural branding that merges the value, low cost and fashionable design to ensure the creation of affordable contemporary household goods for the middle class. The company emphasized its Swedish heritage in its international advertising, even going as far to insist on Swedish blue and yellow colour scheme echoes the colours of the Swedish national flag for its stores. Any IKEA stores include restaurants that serve Swedish meatballs. IKEA has a long tradition in marketing communication focusing primarily on printed media IKEAs catalogue is the worlds largest free distribution translated into several languages and now it is possible to view online on the website. Other IKEAs communication tools are: TV, radio, and internet. IKEA in UK According to the latest figures from market intelligence specialists Verdict Consulting, IKEA UK total market share up to the end of quarter three 2009 is 6.1 % IKEAs competitors in the UK are DIY retailers that are selling more home furnishings like Argos, B Q, Homebase and John Lewis. There are 18 stores in the UK, the first of which opened in Warrington in 1987. The largest IKEA store is in Croydon, London. In July 2009 IKEA opened a store in Dublin-its first in Ireland. Appendix 2: An audit of existing relationships with key community groups Introduction IKEA is undertaking an audit in order to identify projects key community groups in Coventry, an assessment of their interests, and the ways in which these interests affect project effectiveness and limitations. Stakeholder audit seeks to identify these. Audit methodology Methodologies that were used to undertake and audit of IKEA UK community groups are the following: Secondary research on stakeholder theory and stakeholder analysis methodologies. (See the selected bibliography attached as appendix of this report). Mendelows stakeholder mapping matrix will be taken as a technique to classify stakeholders according to their importance to the organisation. IKEA sustainability report 2008 and other documentary evidence in regard to the IKEAs relationships with community groups. Identification of community groups and nature of relationship A number of community groups were identified by the in-house survey. Identified community groups in IKEA are the following: Figure A1.1. Community groups and relationship Site community Workplace community Fenceline community IKEA Local media Strength of relationship Strong Weak Local government Universities Church groups Trade Union Greenpeace Stakeholder map: power/interest matrix In order to establish the community groups and their level of influence and impact on relationship marketing we will use stakeholder mapping technique. Mendelows stakeholder map classifies stakeholders in relation to the power that they hold and the extent to which they are likely to show interest in the strategies of the organization. The following figure shows the results of power/interest analysis for IKEA UK community groups. The symbols [+] and [-] are used, according to whether each group is, generally, a supporter or opponent of the aims and activities of IKEA. Figure A1.2. Power/interest for community groups in IKEA relationship marketing Level of interest Low High LowA: Minimal effort universities [+] church groups [+] Level of power B: Keep informed Media: local press [+/-] C: Keep satisfied HighLocal government [+/-] Pressure groups: Trade Union [-] Greenpeace [-] D: Key players Site community [+/-] Fenceline community [+/-] Workplace community [+/-] The current position of each community group may be justified as follows: Influence is considered with particular reference to the community groups potential impact on IKEAs relationshi

Educational Goals and Philosophy :: Teaching Education Careers Essays

Educational Goals and Philosophy How do I feel about teaching? I feel that the most important career an individual could choose would be education. Teachers play an important role in the lives of young children. They help shape and mold the world's future citizen that will run companies, be politicians, doctors, lawyers, teachers, electricians, construction workers, or whatever they desire. I feel that the most important role of a teacher is to provide children with the best possible education that is available. Teachers need to help young children learn and work up to their potential to be a productive, responsible citizen in society today. There are many strategies to use when providing the students with an appropriate education that meets all the individual's needs. I believe that the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all played an important role in shaping the educational system. I basically agree with Socrates philosophy because he promoted intellectual insights in his students. The Socratic method was a challenge in Socrates time as it is today because people don't like change. They are hesitant when it comes to new approaches or strategies to teach the curriculum. Many educators still tend to use the conventional ideas and traditions to teach subject matter as opposed to keeping up with the current trends and technologies today. I also agree with parts of Plato and Aristotle's philosophies. I feel that a combination of the three would benefit any teacher. Progressivism is respect for individuality. My hope is to allow for this in my classroom. As I enter into the educational field and acquire more knowledge, I began to realize how different individual's needs are and how different methods have to be used to get across concepts being taught. Howard Gardner identified eight kinds of intelligences. The quality of a student's performance depends greatly on how they learn. I hope to meet all my student's needs by incorporating a wide variety of techniques in my lesson plans. I will use cooperative learning groups, peer tutoring, teach - reteach methods, hands - on activities, and the use of technology. I will be open - minded to any suggestions or any new approaches that may arise.

Case Study of Architect Koh Sheh-Ren

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM Ar. Koh Sheh-Ren, graduated from University Malaya and has been working in C’arch since graduation. Other than building undertakings, she was besides involved in a preservation research undertaking sponsored by UNESCO ( LEAP ) ; Community Participation in Waqf Rehabilitation, Kapitan Keling Mosque and environing countries, George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Observation and analysis of her edifices have been done to convey an apprehension of the architect’s architectural theory, to grok personal properties that contribute to the building of architectural theory. One of her undertakings, Garden Manor has been chosen to carry on the analysis. The Garden Manor undertaking, is a residential undertaking comprises a sum of 41 units of 3 floors and 4 floor strata linked Villa. It is chosen to analyze about three external lending factors which are, architectural theory, climatic status and stuff & A ; engineering. First of wholly, the architectural theory or the construct of Garden Manor is, to make something different instead than a typical linked house unit. The typical Malaysian linked houses ever have a deep and narrow footmark, due to the commercial force per unit areas to maximize the denseness. The limited infinites or external facades for forepart and back do a dim and ill ventilated infinite in the center of the house. â€Å"Architecture is non approximately frontages, it is more than that† . The edifice challenges the typical patio layout convention with two solutions. First of wholly, have a shallower and wider floor program which provides a brighter, wider and more broad facet to every floor. Following, the interpolation of unfastened decks next to each party wall creates an extra 3rd external facade for natural lighting and airing. The attendant facade nowadayss each place as a degage unit. The design of the Garden Manor is really alone. It uses fenceless construct but with gated and restrained enclave, hence security is really tight within the country. Each place is able to suit lower limit of four autos under shadiness. Residents are pampered with epicurean clubhouse, that includes installations like swimming pools, secondary schools and many other installations. Second, the climatic facets are good considerated due to the design of the edifice. The facade is really good designed utilizing glass wall for natural sunshine. The house countenance challenges the typical patio layout by supplying 3 external frontages. It has unfastened decks and wider infinites for ample natural visible radiation and airing. Lots of gaps and tall Windowss environing the house allow the edifice to hold brighter and good ventilated infinites. It offers alone and seemless life infinite for the household. The affection and attractive aesthetics enhances the natural connexion to the land. Third, the stuffs and engineering farther enhances the design of the edifice. The stuffs used are spectacless, a pallet of fair-faced concrete and aluminum screens coatings which provide comfy tropical places in the same clip accomplishing the needed development with the denseness of 12 unit / acre. Wide frontages, with degage walls in between houses making 3 external frontages. White pigments and tiles help to make broad infinite. Glass panels and gaps allow natural illuming making alone spacial experience for the user. Theory of architecture is non the history or the pass events of architecture. History has to cover with edifices and the different manners of architecture which have already arisen throughout the clip. History is merely a description of the architectural facts. Theory has attempted to supply accounts for all the facts. It looks for grounds why the edifices look in peculiar manner and why the designers would hold chosen to plan their edifices in such ways. Reasons of why the architectural manners are altering over clip to clip and the attitudes and premises of designers which have influenced their head during some periods and led to those alterations. It besides looks at the beginnings for the thoughts of the designers during the design of their edifices. There are illustrations of motions, alterations, influences, thoughts and theories of the designers which changed the architecture class over clip such as the manner it looked and besides the manners that were used. That has made the edifices look different to what they were earlier. How architecture pattern is influenced by presenting new perceptual experiences of similar events, a new manner of looking at world and stand foring that world in reinforced signifier. In order to understand what is the theory of architecture, we should first look at what designers do in planing edifices. The chief function of architecture is to interpret societal establishments into built signifier by interpreting the complex relationships of an establishment into the linguistic communication of architecture. The relationships are between the different activities which taking topographic point within the establishment. Architects give every of these activities a physical infinite and all these infinites are arranged harmonizing to the functional relationships between the groups of activities within the establishment. Therefore, we are non merely planing facade of the edifice. We do non merely plan walls that make up a signifier. We need deeper believing procedure or planning for every phase of design particularly the planning phase. We should plan facade that is able to reflect the individuality of the edifice and the infinites. Many facets that we should take int o considerations and we besides have to join forces with others. In order to accomplish good coaction and communicating, we study about the demand of the client, the user or proprietor, and every bit good as the map of the infinite. For illustration, Garden Manor is a high terminal development undertaking which targets the upmarket. Therefore, these edifices are expected to be bought by those with position, every bit good as to be suited retirement place for retired persons who wish to hold a quiet, peaceable and elegant life style during their retirement. Following, after we study the demand infinites of the edifice, site visiting is besides a really of import measure and procedure. Different types of site analysis will be conducted to hold better apprehension of the behaviour of the site. Evaluation of potency of the site can besides be done in relation to the development plan and the environmental impact. The of import factors of the site are the location, orientation, sun way, wind way, topography, flora and environing edifices and people. The site analysis identifies the environmental and plan development restraints and chances. After the site analysis and survey about the site, we should be able to construct edifices within the site context without pretermiting the issues on site. Other than the limitations of the site, restraints from the client besides virtually help to make originative solutions to job. Because edifice contains assorted activities and they are built in assorted locations, they are needfully different to the ot hers. They will react to all their peculiar context like topographic point, clip, engineering & A ; programme. Individual edifice represent really peculiar single fortunes. For case, Garden Manor is located at Sierramas, Sungai Buloh which has been known for its natural peaceable milieus in a secured environment with booming landscape gardening and streetscaping. Garden Manor is strategically located and it is a alluring natural retreat from the interior metropolis life. Give in to our hungering for a at leisure living environment with our household. It is merely merely a pleasance to come place to. Garden Manor offers a uninterrupted, clean and unlittered life infinite for the household. The edifices are arranged on tree-lined streets. The heat and ask foring aesthetics enhances our natural association to the land. Nestled amid the environing trees and waves of the land, each edifice succeeds in making a private, yet open-plan household environment. Pedestrain paths nexus these edifices to the clubhouse and pool for easy entree. Communal life is seamlessly harmonious with our personal touches infused into the atmosphere of the places at Sierramas. Afte r the site analysis, they understand the Sun way and wind way on site. They understand the potency of holding tall Windowss and gaps to convey in natural sunshine and air for airing. Buildings are physical things and are made of stuffs. Their basic map is to supply shelter for human existences against a hostile clime despite how complicated they are. As physical enclosures they besides provide a psychological sense of security to their dwellers. Material refers to all the physical substances which are assembled and make the inside and exterior facade of the edifice. Nowadays most edifices are constructed from a monolithic sum of stuffs, each with really specific practical demands and complexness of assembly demands. For illustration, an assembly of exterior wall contains stuffs that help to forestall rain and air current, and besides thermally insulate the dwellers from outside temperatures. It structurally supports the full edifice and the connected enclosure system, supplying ideal interior and exterior coatings. Besides, windows, doors, blowholes, and other gaps as good which connect to the inside and outside of the edifice. This shows the complexness and impo rtance of the stuff choosing procedure in planing edifice. These determinations are based on a figure of carefully considered issues including symbolism, rightness, physical belongingss, and technique. Climate is besides a really of import factor to be considered in choice and assembly of stuffs. We frequently see edifices that have non taken local environmental conditions into consideration, by either retroflexing the same archetypal design, or by planing a edifice for a specific site that ignores climatic issues. The consequence is the edifice performs ill and fails to maintain dwellers comfy without outgos of inordinate energy, close complete dependance on mechanical systems to rectify hapless building determinations. Some stuffs carry specific intensions within peculiar civilizations and parts. We frequently refer to the digesting qualities of rock, or the passing nature of glass or paper. In some instances, the stuff associated with a coveted symbolic look is non available or excessively dearly-won, and another stuff is substituted to retroflex that stuff and accomplish the coveted consequence. In Garden Manor, the fair-faced concrete, glass and aluminum screens coatings creat e a feeling of tropical places. The full edifice is to the full tiled with high quality tiles, while bathrooms are furnished with high quality healthful ware and mirrors. In decision, architectural theory Acts of the Apostless as a of import map between what architects think they are making or what really they do or what they should be making. The theory assesses how good a undertaking has been done supplying the undertaking of architecture is right and accurate representation of its environment. Theory identifies the jobs occurred whenever the architecture fails to stand for its ain environment successfully. These are semantic jobs where the individuality of establishment that can non be understood or predicted by simply detecting its architectural signifier. Theory of architecture besides analyses the causes of these jobs and sometimes in some instances it offers solutions. Theory applies the same sort of critical idea to the full planetary degree of architecture, and besides to the whole of architectural production. It refers to the stylistic picks available presently and asks whether they are suited to stand for the current environment. It provide s account, historical background and context to critical issues in architecture and to current jobs. It inquiries, why things are the manner they are now. This is theory’s critical function. Mention C-arch, . ( 2014 ) . Garden Manor, Kuala Lumpur C'ARCH ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN | Architects Malaysia. Retrieved 20 June 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.c-arch.com.my/index/garden-manor Koh, S. ( 2014 ) . Personal Communication. C'arch. Propwall, . ( 2014 ) . Garden Manor, Sungai Buloh. Retrieved 21 June 2014, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.propwall.my/sungai_buloh/garden_manor

American Popular Culture Essay

American popular culture has brought entertainment to many for the past two centuries. However, very little people know the extent to which American popular culture has shaped the historical relationship between marginalized social groups and dominate American society. Traditionally, the term popular culture has denoted the education level and general â€Å"cultural-ness† of the lower classes, as opposed to the â€Å"official culture† and higher education emanated by the dominant classes. This separation of upper class and lower class became even more pronounced towards the end of the 19th century. At the end of the 19th century the was a strong need for one to express their intellectualism as well as further their education in order to gain a higher status in society. Due to the need to denote other races, we have the arrival of black face minstrelsy in American popular culture, which allowed for inferior white races such as the Jewish of Irish to gain approval from the dominate white culture. However, black face minstrelsy also forced African Americans further into segregation from American society. During the period of Modernity from 1870 to 1930, there was a strong fascination with the Wild West and Manifest Destiny. During this time there was the formation of the Boy Scouts, which was the true depiction of what Americans thought it was like to be Native American. Due to irrational fears and anxieties, American popular culture took comfort in â€Å"playing Indian† because it allowed them to express these worries in American mainstream media. From the end of World War I, following major cultural and social changes brought by mass media innovations, the meaning of popular culture began to overlap with those of mass culture, media culture, and culture for mass consumption. Because of World War II, many women were put to work in order to fill the jobs of the men at war allowing them to gain a sense of independence. However, other events in history such as Vaudeville, and the idea of the New Woman also allowed women to gain a sense of power during the 19th century with pioneers such as Sarah Bernhardt. American popular culture was the gender revolutions biggest supporter as well as its biggest critic. Throughout American history, popular culture has been an entry way for marginal social groups into the political, economic, and social mainstream of American society. With Irish and Jewish males finally being accepted by dominate white society through the performance of black face minstrelsy as well as women being able to control their own being through expression in Vaudeville. However, while these minorities are able to further their social hierarchy through performance, African Americans and Native Americans were often exploited as a way of making profit. While American popular culture has its positive social constructions, I believe the negative effects that American popular culture has had on the historical relationship between marginal social groups and American society has caused too much damage to repair. Through acts such as the minstrelsy shows, the Buffalo Bill Show as well as films and plays of the time, minorities are depicted in a subordinate role to the Anglo-Saxon male. These acts within popular culture spilled over onto American society and allowed for the prejudice and racism of the 19th and 20th century. The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American popular culture entertainment consisting of comedy skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performed by white people in blackface. Blackface was when a White American would paint their face with black makeup and exaggerate their lips and being to impersonate an African American male. Minstrel shows caricatured black people as poor, lazy, dim-witted, buffoonish, happy-go-lucky and violent. The minstrel show began with brief parodies and comic entr’actes in the early 1830s and emerged as a full-fledged form of mass entertainment in the next decade. In 1848, blackface minstrel shows were the national art of the time, translating formal art such as opera into popular terms for a general audience. Minstrel songs and sketches featured several run-of-the-mill characters; the slave and the dandy in nice clothes quickly began the crowd favorites. These were further divided into sub-archetypes such as the mammy, her counterpart the old darky, the provocative mulatto wench, and the black soldier. Minstrel performers claimed that their songs and dances were authentically â€Å"black†, although the extent of the black influence remains debatable. The depictions of African Americans as these â€Å"token† characters, allowed for the ignorance of White America to be validated through the representation of minorities through stereotypes. African Americans were seen as bumbling fools who couldn’t take care of themselves and needed a White master to explain the world to their simple minds. African Americans were seen as people who needed someone to represent them; they needed someone with power to gain control of an â€Å"untamed† culture. A certain version of a black identity can be created through things like the minstrel show and other forms of popular culture, and that understanding has led to material practices like racial segregation and social inequality and educational deprivation. Americans use to believe that race could be distinguished biologically and that different ethnicities had different DNA coding than others. American popular culture is how most people learn about other identities and allowed them to understand the practices of another culture. As Professor Avila stated in lecture â€Å"the minstrel show is one of the sites in history where this could be found. The 19th century was a time where people saw racial difference and were terrified by it. The existence of slavery and its uncertain future promoted a mixed range of responses by Americans and they were acted in a variety of ways† (Avila Lecture January 15th 2013). The minstrel shows are a perfect example of how White Americans acted out their own prejudice to enact their own culture in 19th and 20th century America. The Minstrel performers were often men of Jewish or Irish descent, which were two groups of people who were discriminated against even though they were White. Often, Jewish and Irish men took comfort in dressing up in Blackface for the minstrel shows because it allowed them to relate to the audience as well as the character they are portraying. These performers used minstrelsy as a platform to gain social hierarchy in American popular culture by bringing comic relief to a working class audience. Also, they often were able to finally express themselves once they put the Blackface make-up on because it served as a mask which hid their actual identity from the audience. These minorities were able to use their performances to gain acceptance from the dominant White American society. However, this upward social mobility came at a large price for African Americans during the 19th century. The depiction of African Americans as fools or grime savages in the minstrel show furthered the discrimination and stereotypes upheld by Anglo-Americans. Minstrels were not shifty in their theft of black cultural expressions and practices. The performers depicted these expressions quite brazenly, acknowledging and emphasizing the speeches and songs they created. At the same time, black face minstrels were the first self-conscious white entertainers in the world. While they told themselves they were only playing the role of an African American in American society, they often found their life struggles were very similar to those of the characters they portrayed. This mutual discrimination by dominant White America, allowed for African Americans and the White Americans portraying them in minstrel shows to bridge a formerly segregated gap in American society. Blackface minstrelsy was the first distinctly American theatrical form, and deeply rooted in American popular culture. In the 1830s and 1840s, it was at the core of the rise of an American music industry, and for several decades it provided the lens through which white America saw black America. On the one hand, it had strong racist aspects and furthered discrimination of minorities in America; on the other, it afforded white Americans a singular and broad awareness of what some whites of the time, considered significant aspects of black-American culture to be. Although the minstrel shows were extremely popular, being â€Å"consistently packed with families from all walks of life and every ethnic group†, they were also extremely controversial. Racial integrationists decried them as falsely showing happy slaves while at the same time making fun of them; segregationists thought such shows were â€Å"disrespectful† of social norms, portrayed runaway slaves with sympathy and would undermine the southerners’ â€Å"peculiar institution†. With Irish, German, Polish, Italian, Russian-Jews, and Native stock within the audience, the minstrel show provided a relational model by which those in audiences could unite in whiteness. And although the minstrel show sometimes did highlight interethnic diversities, they all could share in this particular joke – the laziness and stupidity of black people. African Americans were not the only minority group to suffer social, political and economic discrimination during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Native Americans who are the rightful owners of our beautiful land have faced harsh and cruel discrimination from dominant White American society. Throughout early American history, there was a strong push for Manifest Destiny, or the wide held belief that American settlers were destined to expand throughout the continent. This ideology was upheld by most Americans because they believed that God had told them it was their destiny to settle on this land. Due to the fact that they believed it was their destiny, the settlers took little to no pity on the people who already inhabited the land they were seizing. The concept of Western expansion seemed to be on the forefront of every Americans mind during the late 19th century, allowing for new fears and anxieties to form about Native Americans. With leisure time becoming a strong part of American culture, there became a strong pull to produce shows to entertain the masses after a hard day’s work. Showmen such as William F. Cody began to produce shows like the Buffalo Bill show, which featured relations between cowboys and Indians. For 23 years, the show featured a skit called â€Å"attack on setter’s cabin† as the grand finale show. This skit would start by showing a frontier home which was set on fire by savages, each time the encircling group of Indians came close to the cabin, Buffalo Bill would ride out on his horse to the rescue and save the day. The common theme of the Buffalo Bill show was to reinforce the heroic image of the Cowboy who expanded the land from sea to shining sea, saving the lives of White Americans and killing the enemies who stopped their destiny. While William F. Cody would sometimes depict a Native American in some of the skits, he was often the heroic cowboy everybody was waiting to see. However, working as a Native American in the production of the Buffalo Bill show had its upside. William F. Cody did not adhere to government demands as often fought to resist them to gain rights for his employees. One example of his resistance is allowing his Native American actors to keep their long hair instead of assimilating to dominate society like the government demanded. Also, the Native Americans in the Buffalo Bill show were offered a unique opportunity that many minorities didn’t have during the 19th century in America. Cody offered the Native Americans the chance to travel the country and make an income that was sizable. Taking part in these reenactments of American history also allowed for Native Americans to hold onto a sliver of their culture in a society who is try to diminish their practices. However, the overall goal of the Buffalo Bill show was not to inform the public about the cultural and social practices of Native Americans, but rather a remedy for the fantasies and fears that flooded American society during the late 19th century As stated by professor Avila â€Å"the image of the Indian has this degree of symbolic flexibility to be able to contain the projected fantasies and anxieties of Native Americans† (Avila, Lecture, January 29th 2013). The onslaught of Modernity challenged the concept of identity for everyone in America. The anxieties of the upper class about a minority revolt were enhanced by the acceleration of modernity (Lawrence, American Culture). Modernity brought a deep sense of transformation from an old world order to a new society. â€Å"However, this allowed for the objectification of people and products alike, with things becoming abstract commodities, like people becoming cogs in a machine, rather than being an independent human† (Nasaw, Going Out). Suddenly during the late 19th century there was a strive for authenticity, or a culturally-constructed category created in opposition to a perceived state of inauthenticity; a way to imagine and idealize the real, the traditional, and the organic in opposition to the perceived inauthenticity of modern commercial life. Inauthenticity was beginning to plague the youth of America and there was a strong push toward needing to be authentic. One of the urban responses about the corruption of youth was the invention of boy scouts, which wanted to introduce frontier experiences to youth, with an emphasis on scouting, camping, exercise, and a wholesome relationship with nature. The concept of the Boy Scouts takes the idea of â€Å"playing Indian† to its fullest extent. The actual image of the Indian was important to the Boy Scouts understanding of nature and the things that inhabit it. The Boy Scouts idealized the image of a Native American because it represented the human removed from modern life, who is retaining virtues from nature by living in it. White Americans use â€Å"playing Indian† as a way of projecting their fears and anxieties about the unknown onto the lives of Native Americans. Although it is not a strong point of the Buffalo Bill show, William F. Cody was known for his performances as he heroic cowboy, but he sometimes depicted the â€Å"Indian† in some of his skits. The audience at the shows seemed to like when the White actor would dress up as Native Americans, because they felt like they could connect better with that actor and his struggles. The idea of â€Å"playing Indian† in American popular culture can be seen both negatively and positively. Unfortunately, â€Å"playing Indian† led to the development of new stereotypes and anxieties, as well as reinforced old stereotypes about Native Americans. This caused a lot of tension and fear between the White settlers and the Native inhabitants of the land. On the other hand, â€Å"playing Indian† allowed for a previously intolerant society to gain a better understanding of the cultures and societies around them. Through experimenting with â€Å"playing Indian† American popular culture has both hampered the historical relationship between marginalized social group and American dominate society as well as strengthened the bond between two previously segregated groups. The American concepts of Manifest Destiny and Western expansion created many fears and anxieties for the White settlers of the land. After the closing of the frontier in 1890, Americans began to face new anxieties that European settlers would come from all parts of Europe and demolish the democracy that America had worked so hard to create. We can accredit most of the need in America for White Americans to portray themselves as Indians to the concept of Modernization. With Modernization came the invention of the railroads and the automobile which gave a stronger push toward urbanization. White Americans felt the need to seek simpler times like they had before industrialization and modernization took their course on American popular culture. Throughout American popular culture, there has always been a need to enforce a social hierarchy to make sure that minority groups don’t gain any power. This has proven to be true throughout America history with different racial groups, but minorities do not stop at race. During the 19th and 20th century, women were seen an inferior to men in America simply because they are a different gender. The concept of gender identities is often visited in American popular culture. In lecture, we have discussed how gender roles play out in public spheres of the modern city such as dance halls where women were given freedom to dance and the creation of department stores which gave women the option to work and be part of something outside the home. However, prior to the mid-19th century, women were meant to adhere to tradition gender roles placed on them by society. The rise of the theater and vaudeville house, between 1820s and the 1900s, allowed for popular theater to emerge in the conversation of sexual identities. The female performers in Vaudeville became the agents and metaphors for ancient social roles. This was the era associated with the â€Å"new woman†, who became perceived by the public eye as non-traditional. The new woman was both a social reality, as depicted by Sarah Bernhardt and a cultural concept, as shown by the feminist revolution. It was coined at the end of the century, and described a woman changing her public behavior and adopting new roles within a previously bias society. At the turn of the 20th century, American had a new league of ambitious, educated women who often put off or refused marriage, and dedicated themselves to political causes and social reforms – these women were part of what was labeled as the new woman of the 20th century. By the time of World War I, women demanded political and economic equality with men. Most historians have seen the rise of the political women, but particularly in urban slices of society, an important venue of acceptance was seen. Sarah Bernhardt embodies this idea of the â€Å"new woman†, or a woman who doesn’t see her gender as a limitation to her life. Sarah Bernhardt formed her own theater company, and she was the first actor to tour on an international circuit. She often played the roles of women, many of which were familiar to American audiences. She also accredited for pioneering the form of the woman torn between power hungry aggressions and passive submissions. Onstage, she was usually very dramatic and could perform hysteria without shame, which was usually considered not ladylike. She caused many scandals by playing the roles of men in her plays, like in 1899 where she played the role of Hamlet. She upstaged men performing alongside her, jumping across masculine and feminine roles at the same time, blurring the lines between men and women, and blurring the line between a bad woman and a good woman. Whatever the case, her personality always dominated the characters she played. â€Å"She had an immodest presence and was known for shameless and bold publicity stunts. She could seize the possibilities for self-construction afforded by mass culture and spectacle† (Kasson, Amusing the Millions). She invented the farewell tour, and each tour was loaded with drama and tears. She did this to heighten a dramatic sense of finality, and was a master of advanced publicity and that of her own self-image. She was in control of her own self-image, not unlike women promoted by PT Barnum. Unlike Jenny Lin, Bernhardt called the shots for her performances, and that image was that of a high-strung and egotistic person. She took ownership of her public image, and though she was adored, she was criticized by males for being too unladylike. This could have suggested gender confusion at the time. Nonetheless, she contributes to the large visibility of women, and showed how women could change the terms with public culture. This created new examples of women that were willing to stand for their rights by asserting their demands for political equality. In contrast to the Bernhardt image, there were images in the 20th century American popular culture, which reinforced women as ornaments which were to be produced and handled by men. The creation of the chorus line gave birth to a new type of objectification. The amusement of the line resided with the ability for women who were the entire same image to show their ability to synchronize and choreograph their movements together. The line symbolized the application of the principles of scientific management to mass entertainment. These women who danced in the line all looked the same and held the same facial feature throughout the show almost as if they were wound up robots with someone controlling their every move. The idea is to synchronize limbs and bodies to a series and different steps, and in turn it reflects a faith into human engineering as entertainment. The chorus line was referred to a small army of femininity where women worked rigorously into being part of the crowd, and not an individual. They are parts of a whole, and are theatrically useless when they are separated from each other. They were displays of mechanical awareness, and that also broke the body to eroticize particular parts of the body, exposing these previously well hidden body parts to the public gaze. Historians argue that the chorus line is a perfect example of how men view women within a society; they are just pieces of a machine waiting to comply with a strong males command. These two different types of women that emerged in the 19th and 20th century in America show the strong influence that males had over women during this time period. The â€Å"new woman† was a rebellion against traditional gender roles, while the chorus line depicted a submissive woman who needs male guidance. Throughout 19th and 20th century American popular culture, there has been a lot of discrimination towards this idea of the â€Å"outsider†. In the minstrel show the outside is shown as an African-American male and the â€Å"insider† is the White family who paid to see the show. The creation of The Buffalo Bill show painted Native Americans as the â€Å"outsiders†, even though they inhabited the land before Americans even got here. Finally, American popular culture allowed for women to be depicted as the â€Å"outsider† and males to be presented as the â€Å"insiders†. However, even though these tragedies plague American popular culture minorities still find ways of resistance. Whether it be through Irish and Jewish culturally subordinate groups depicting the stereotypes of another minority to try to fit into mainstream American, or women like Sarah Bernhardt who don’t set limitations to their ambitions due to their gender, American counter culture has always found a way to strike back and its oppressor. I believe that American popular culture has allowed naive Americans to get a better perspective of the hardships faced every day by someone who is considered a â€Å"second class citizen†. American popular culture as both provided a gateway for minorities to fit into modern American society, as well as crumbled any hope for a sensitive bridging of gaps between social, political or racial groups within America. Works Cited Kasson, John. Amusing the Millions: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century. Hill and Wang; First Edition edition, 1978. Print. Levine, Lawrence, â€Å"American Culture and the Great Depression,† The Unpredictable Past: Explorations in American Cultural History Oxford University Press, 1993. Print. Nasaw, David, and . Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements. Harvard University Press, 1999. Print.

The U.S. Environmental Movement

The U.S. Environmental Movement When did the U.S. environmental movement begin? Its hard to say for sure. Nobody held an organizing meeting and drew up a charter, so there is no absolute definitive answer to the question of when the environmental movement really began in the United States. Here are some important dates, in reverse chronological order: Earth Day April 22, 1970, the date of the first Earth Day celebration in the United States, is often cited as the start of the modern environmental movement. On that day, 20 million Americans filled parks and took to the streets in a nationwide teach-in and protest about critical environmental issues facing the United States and the world. It is probably around that time that environmental issues also truly became political issues. Silent Spring Many other people associate the beginning of the environmental movement with the 1962 publication of Rachel Carsons groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, which spelled out the dangers of the pesticide DDT. The book awakened many people in the United States and elsewhere to the potential environmental and health hazards of using powerful chemicals in agriculture and led to a ban on DDT. Up until that point, we understood that our activities could be harmful to the environment, but Rachel Carsons work suddenly made it clear to many of us that we were also harming our bodies in the process. Earlier, Olaus and Margeret Murie were early pioneers of conservation, using the burgeoning science of ecology to encourage the protection of public lands where functioning ecosystems could be preserved. Aldo Leopold, a forester who later laid the foundations of wildlife management, continued focusing ecological science on the quest for a more harmonious relationship with nature.   A First Environmental Crisis An important environmental concept, the idea that active engagement by people is necessary to protect the environment, probably first reached the general public at the very beginning of the 20th century. During the period 1900-1910, wildlife populations in North America were at an all-time low. Populations of beaver, white-tailed deer, Canada geese, wild turkey, and many duck species were almost extinct from market hunting and loss of habitat. These declines were obvious to the public, which largely lived in rural areas at the time. As a result, new conservation laws were enacted (for example, the Lacey Act), and the very first National Wildlife Refuge was created.  Ã‚   Still, others might point to May 28, 1892, as the day when the U.S. environmental movement began. That is the date of the first meeting of the Sierra Club, which was founded by noted preservationist John Muir and is generally acknowledged as the first environmental group in the United States. Muir and other early members of the Sierra Club were largely responsible for preserving the Yosemite Valley in California and persuading the federal government to establish Yosemite National Park. No matter what first sparked the U.S. environmental movement or when it actually began, its safe to say that environmentalism has become a powerful force in American culture and politics. Ongoing efforts to understand more clearly how we can use natural resources without depleting them, and enjoy natural beauty without destroying it, is inspiring many of us to take a more sustainable approach to the way we live and to tread a little more lightly on the planet. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Linear Programming essays

Linear Programming essays History of linear programming goes back as far as 1940s. Main motivation for the need of linear programming goes back to the war time when they needed ways to solve many complex planning problems. The simplex method which is used to solve linear programming was developed by George B. Dantzig, in 1947. Dantzig, was one in who did a lot of work on linear programming, he was reconzied by several honours. Dantzigs discovery was through his personal contribution, during WWII when Dantzig was working in the pentagon with the miltary, one of his collegues challenged him, asking speed up the planning process. Discovery of the simplex method was his solution. Linear programming is a powerful tool to solve many problems that arise in many different areas of the outside world. Simplex method has been standard method of solving most Linear programmings since 1940s. Simplex method uses of maximizing and minimizing a linear function to find a feasible set, from then on determined as a miximizer or a minimizer. It can handle many hundreds of variables and in that way its extremely powerful. These problems can actually be programmed in to a computer to solve problems with extreme number of variables. Ability to handly many thousands of variables gives its greatest advantages of all. Linear programming applications can be found in many different industries Importance of linear programming goes to a very high extent and its now used in many small All types of problems can be solved that contain a linear function which is to be maximized or minimized and given the constraints. ...

Change

Wideman wonders about the youth today. There are too many of them running around doing nothing with their lives. Seeping through the cracks and who is going to be there to help them out. Will Obama? Wideman wonders â€Å"How will President Barack Obama attempt to seal the cracks they slip through? Not cracks in the pavement of Grand and Essex, but the cracks of broken promises, the cracks that have divided and conquered the will of a nation to treat all citizens equally†(858). It seems the questions never end, but what else can they do but wonder. The world stands and waits for the next move, but instead of waiting why don’t they join in on making the first move. Just because the president is black and that is accomplish within itself. Taking the first step is always the hardest but it has to start somewhere. â€Å"I want to walk up to one of them and ask â€Å"Do you think your life might be different now that Barack Obama is president? What steps do you believe President Obama will take to improve your life? What steps do you think he should take? †(857). There are some kids that are out there willing to make a change and enforcing it as well but there isn’t enough, the more that will contribute the less work there will be for everyone and life could go back to the way it used to be, cheap. In school, kids only think about their looks and the lust of one another is no longer a learning system but a fashion show at the mall. From what’s on your hair to the latest sneakers, â€Å"young people of amalgamated†¦eyes hungry for each other† (858). Wideman said though â€Å"intimidated† he was in love with the way the kids thought, made him think about his own and one day theirs. About the future that he will no longer be in charge of but let the young adults care for him. He’s also worried that there are more than few of them walking around without a care in the world, not thinking about their future. â€Å"Is there such thing, really, as a future in young minds†? Kids today are committing suicide, and are in gangs and killing one another, or just not focusing enough in school, whatever it maybe. Kids are finding more ways to stay on the streets, but being on the streets doesn’t make you any less it just means you must work harder to achieve your goals. There should be more adults trying to guide these lost souls back, instead of turning their back and being even more ignorant adults acting up. It’s not only the kids fault but the nature, these kids don’t have a choice on where they grow up or how much money they’re parents make or the way of luxurious life styles they weren’t grace with jewels but if they work hard and really want it anything can be there’s. Look at all those rich and famous people not all of them where born into it, most of them had to work hard and grind and that what should be taught to work hard and you shall receive. Americans feel it is okay to rest on their laurels but resting on anything that is half way built is bound to break and tip over. Having a good foundation is key to success, help is needed in these kids life’s more people who give a damn and Obama is doing that. Giving the little ray of sunlight on those kids future. Letting them know that no matter how big their dream is they can receive it as long as they work hard at it. Obama is trying to build a better and stronger foundation for future for Americans but he can’t do it alone. Everyone has to take responsibility and try to become a better them. â€Å"Perhaps we would explore together the explosive, still almost unbelievable fact that our country finally seized the opportunity to turn away from one deeply rooted, intractable, self-destructive, dead-end understanding of itself as white and black, finally began to create a new vision of itself†(858). Just as Wideman said try to be the positive being you want to see in the world. Michael Jackson was a legend he not only sing beautifully but his is words he made a difference. His song Man in the Mirrors lyric is very powerful and true â€Å"If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself, and then make a change† should be a world motto and if â€Å"Yolo† was used correctly you do only live once so use every opportunity given big or small, just take it â€Å"Yolo† right . Obama was just the tip of the iceberg of change and good this world really needs. Wideman story was honest and good, his points were valid and firm. The only question is America ready for a change? And now that a chance is given, will it be taken? Change Change Change Change Wideman wonders about the youth today. There are too many of them running around doing nothing with their lives. Seeping through the cracks and who is going to be there to help them out. Will Obama? Wideman wonders â€Å"How will President Barack Obama attempt to seal the cracks they slip through? Not cracks in the pavement of Grand and Essex, but the cracks of broken promises, the cracks that have divided and conquered the will of a nation to treat all citizens equally†(858). It seems the questions never end, but what else can they do but wonder. The world stands and waits for the next move, but instead of waiting why don’t they join in on making the first move. Just because the president is black and that is accomplish within itself. Taking the first step is always the hardest but it has to start somewhere. â€Å"I want to walk up to one of them and ask â€Å"Do you think your life might be different now that Barack Obama is president? What steps do you believe President Obama will take to improve your life? What steps do you think he should take? †(857). There are some kids that are out there willing to make a change and enforcing it as well but there isn’t enough, the more that will contribute the less work there will be for everyone and life could go back to the way it used to be, cheap. In school, kids only think about their looks and the lust of one another is no longer a learning system but a fashion show at the mall. From what’s on your hair to the latest sneakers, â€Å"young people of amalgamated†¦eyes hungry for each other† (858). Wideman said though â€Å"intimidated† he was in love with the way the kids thought, made him think about his own and one day theirs. About the future that he will no longer be in charge of but let the young adults care for him. He’s also worried that there are more than few of them walking around without a care in the world, not thinking about their future. â€Å"Is there such thing, really, as a future in young minds†? Kids today are committing suicide, and are in gangs and killing one another, or just not focusing enough in school, whatever it maybe. Kids are finding more ways to stay on the streets, but being on the streets doesn’t make you any less it just means you must work harder to achieve your goals. There should be more adults trying to guide these lost souls back, instead of turning their back and being even more ignorant adults acting up. It’s not only the kids fault but the nature, these kids don’t have a choice on where they grow up or how much money they’re parents make or the way of luxurious life styles they weren’t grace with jewels but if they work hard and really want it anything can be there’s. Look at all those rich and famous people not all of them where born into it, most of them had to work hard and grind and that what should be taught to work hard and you shall receive. Americans feel it is okay to rest on their laurels but resting on anything that is half way built is bound to break and tip over. Having a good foundation is key to success, help is needed in these kids life’s more people who give a damn and Obama is doing that. Giving the little ray of sunlight on those kids future. Letting them know that no matter how big their dream is they can receive it as long as they work hard at it. Obama is trying to build a better and stronger foundation for future for Americans but he can’t do it alone. Everyone has to take responsibility and try to become a better them. â€Å"Perhaps we would explore together the explosive, still almost unbelievable fact that our country finally seized the opportunity to turn away from one deeply rooted, intractable, self-destructive, dead-end understanding of itself as white and black, finally began to create a new vision of itself†(858). Just as Wideman said try to be the positive being you want to see in the world. Michael Jackson was a legend he not only sing beautifully but his is words he made a difference. His song Man in the Mirrors lyric is very powerful and true â€Å"If you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself, and then make a change† should be a world motto and if â€Å"Yolo† was used correctly you do only live once so use every opportunity given big or small, just take it â€Å"Yolo† right . Obama was just the tip of the iceberg of change and good this world really needs. Wideman story was honest and good, his points were valid and firm. The only question is America ready for a change? And now that a chance is given, will it be taken?

Markets and the Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Markets and the Economy - Research Paper Example 1996). Due to unemployment and reduced profits, income reduces hence a decline in tax revenue. Tax revenue is thus lower than expenditure resulting in automatic federal budget deficit. The budget deficit resulting from the recession can help to stabilize the economy. Increased government spending in provision of welfare payments is a source of income for households and this result in increased consumption (Hyman, 2010). As consumption increases, aggregate demand increases thereby prompting producers to produce more hence increased output and employment. The economy thus stabilizes as full employment is reached or aggregate demand equals aggregate supply. Furthermore, improved infrastructure as a result of government spending attracts current and future investments, output growth and employment. Though deficits lead to economy stabilization, there have been concerns about the impact of deficit on national savings. According to Hyman (2010), the financing of deficits by the government from credit markets denies them savings thus inducing increases in interest rates and reduction in private investment hence unemployment and decline in standards of living. The government should thus engage in spending on areas that produce long-term effects such as investment in education to improve workers skills, building infrastructure to provide future employment among other initiatives. Movement from Short-run Equilibrium to the Long-run Equilibrium The short-run supply indicates the quantity of output produced or Real GDP in an economy at a given period. The relationship between the price level and quantity supplied is depicted by a short-run aggregate supply curve which is upward sloping due to a direct relationship between the two. The short-run supply is based on the assumption that wages are sticky and that there are misperceptions in the labor market. An increase in price level pushes real wages downwards and since quantity of labor supplied depends on real wages, labor supply declines leading to low output (Arnold, 2010). Workers often have misperceptions about real wages; if the nominal wages fall accompanied by same proportion of a fall in price level then there is no change in real wages but workers may believe that the real wage has fallen thus reduce demand for labor hence quantity of labor supplied falls as well as output. The equilibrium is reached when aggregate demand curve intersects with short-run aggregate supply. There are other factors that affect short-run supply other than prices. These include wage rates, price of nonlabor inputs, productivity and supply shocks (Arnold, 2010 p. 168). If wage rate increases (stop being sticky), the firm profits decline since the company had already set nominal wages based on constant wage level leading to decline in output or Real GDP as firms are unable to produce more with high costs. The same case applies to other factors of production such as capital and other inputs. This causes shift in short -run aggregate supply curve to the left. If productivity increases, output increases hence shifting the curve to the right. The intersection between aggregate demand (AD) curve and short-run aggregate supply( SRAS) curve determines the equilibrium price level and equilibrium Real GDP which is also determined by whether AD curve shifts more than SRAS curve or vice versa. When the â€Å"

Police Officers and Degrees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Police Officers and Degrees - Essay Example Obtaining tangible evidence is essential to officers since they use it to identify potential suspects (Dempsey & Linda, 2011). However, in order to become a competent police officer, one bear in mind that he or she needs to have both educational and physical requirements that meet the standards of law enforcement officers. In addition to that, a police must complete the police academic training program set by the country. This paper will seek to discuss whether police officers should have degrees or not. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics sets forth that, before anyone becomes a police officer, he or she must posses the minimum education qualifications. In most cases, it usually lies in a school diploma or any other academic qualification equivalent to a school diploma (Siegel & Welsh, 2011). Nowadays, most police agencies require their officers to have at least a college level qualification. This means that things are changing and the police force is no longer the way it was decades ago. Analysts set out that, police officers who possess college level degrees are good at setting in place strategies suitable for curbing crime activities in their area (Fred, 2008). They are able to improvise the activities and performance of an agency by ensuring advent security through set policies and procedures (Cole, Smith, & Christina, 2012). With reference to this spectrum, it is important for a police officer to have a degree, as this would aid in meeting the set security targets. Fact-findings make it clear that, interrogation or questioning a suspect requires more than just techniques that an officer learns when he or she joins the police-training academy. In fact, officers responsible for interrogation sessions have more than just a college diploma. As time went by, requirements stated that police needs to have a higher knowledge about behavior and cognition in order to be in a position to interrogate a suspect (Fred, 2008). This fact shows that for the police to be abl e to deliver the relevant security efforts, they must acquire degrees since going through all that training gives one the power of knowledge and techniques sufficient to carry police tasks with adequacy. A degree for a police officer is imperative since education and skills are the best weapons for guiding and guarding whereby law enforcement officers act as both. In order to deliver adequately, officers need to have the skills and academic prowess that comes along with degree acquisition (Dempsey & Linda, 2011). Having a degree aids in advancing ranks. Apart from the law enforcement docket, most ministries consider educational background before promoting an employee to a higher level. Therefore, if police officers could learn to an extent that they all have degrees, it means that people working as law enforcement agents would not only be learned, but also competent. For instance, in areas where obtaining evidence requires use of mind or nerve or pulse reading machines, intense know ledge is crucial. As such, it is important for a police officer conducting such sessions to have a cognitive knowledge in that area (Siegel & Welsh, 2011). To enhance measures of maintaining civilian security, officers should have at least college degrees (More & Miller, 2010). Those officers dealing with police science or criminal justice should a degree in law enforcement policies, evidence gathering, constitutional rights, and criminology. Agreeably, being conversant with all these topics

The Exchange Relationship Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Exchange Relationship - Term Paper Example Several issues arise in the marketing of the product since every movement is directed by the expectations of the customers. This makes the company have little power to themselves but only hope that through promotion the customers will accept and buy their goods and services. The company therefore carefully plans the stages it has to pass through and gets the right expertise to handle the stages (Berthon, et al., 2003). Companies before launching the products into the market, comprehensive research must be conducted to ascertain how the product can be well marketed at the current demand of the buyers. Therefore the company considers a number of issues notably if the product is not an easy sell of itself into the market sector. Assessment of the strength, weakness and water tight opportunities of selling the product should be greatly considered. Through knowing the set standards of the market by other competitors then it is possible to deliver within certain expectation and this necess itates the making of the prices for the product without exploiting the clients and also making loss in operation (Berthon, et al., 2003). ... is important to consider the methods of product promotion to convince the clients that what the company is offering meets there demand (Weitz & Sandy, 1995). Within the period or marketing the product, the company has to educate the clients and to a far extent allow them to debate on the merits of the product in collaboration of their experience and interaction with the situation that demands the use of the product. This gives as the concept of experiential exchange where customer’s choice being necessitated by previous encounters of such a need (Berthon, et al., 2003). In the case of offering funeral services, consideration of the way the client in question views the matter is important. People of different status expect different treatment in provision of services. A time, it becomes difficult to sell the services efficiently when you are not very flexible (Berthon, et al., 2003). In most circumstances rich people have a notion of showing off and in need of expensive and cer emonious occasions which will be recalled at all moments. Therefore preceding services provided by the company becomes of great support in making the business to sell with much ease (Weitz & Sandy, 1995). In comparing with those living a moderate life in the community, the cost of the service should be at a state which can be accessed. Offering or rather catering for those services expensively may automatically make marketing difficult (Weitz & Sandy, 1995). How companies effectively approach this relation Companies get judged by what and how they offer their products. The relation between the company and the customer can effectively be approach through various ways. It is important in any business to make promises that one can fulfill them. Making a promise to deliver certain expectations or

Protestant Reformation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Protestant Reformation - Essay Example He was against corruption that prevailed in the Roman Catholic Church. John Calvin, a reformist of French origin was the father of Calvinism, a religion whose English believers were known as puritans. He was famous for his uncompromising theological and moral position and for instilling harsh teachings. He also placed a lot of emphasis on the freedom of the church and encouraged it to arrange its internal affairs by means of its own consistory. Hulrich Zwingli was another reformer. Most of the beliefs that he supported were Martin Luther’s. Like Luther, he was against how the church defined sacrament (Eucharist), celibacy, prayers to saints, confession and use of relics. He also emphasized on the existence of communion and baptism as the only two sacraments. Despite being more radical than Luther and more political than Calvin Zwingli’s vision and movement never developed into a church. The protestant reformation is also known as the reformation era. It refers to a great religious reform that took place in Europe during the 1500s (Grcic, 2009). According to Grcic, it â€Å"was a revolt against the authority of the Catholic Church and that destroyed the religious unity of Europe† (2009, p. 109). Different aspects of life, such as economics, government and homes were affected by reformation. In regard to the impact of the period on an international level, it changed religion, the church and the world as a whole. The protestant reformation developed from the values and ideas of the renaissance. During the reformation, reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and Huldrich Zwingli among others accused the Catholic Church clergy of being corrupt and abusing the power bestowed on them (Grcic, 2009). They urged that Christianity ought to be more pure. As a result of the step taken by the reformers, the Catholic Church was very grieved

Nationalism in German History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nationalism in German History - Essay Example And this was the nationalism period of Germany. The Congress of Vienna restored a Germany comprising thirty-nine states. Before 1789 these states had numbered over two hundred. At first glance it seemed that the 1815 arrangement was a move towards simplification and unity, but this was only an appearance (Hagen & Sarah 1991, pg. x). For one thing, many of the thirty-nine states were in possession of more territory after 1815 than they had ever had before, and they were far more interested in maintaining these gains than in any schemes for a single German government in which their own identity might be lost. Germany after 1815 was still a much divided country (pg. xi). This division of Germany exactly suited the aims of the Austrian Chancellor, Metternich, who had a decisive voice in the settlement. Austria could control a disunited Germany far more easily than a united one. While the German princes were divided by political jealously and distrust, the Austrians would have no united opposition to their policies and could exert a decisive influence in the affairs of Germany. An assembly for the whole Germany was created after 1815, but this was by no means an effective German parliament. It represented the princes, not the people, of Germany, and was not in any way elected by popular vote (Martin 2000, pg. 49). The Diet of the German Confederation met at Frankfurt and consisted of 17 members (pg. 50). Eleven of the big states had one member each, and various groups of the smaller states each had one member. Metternich secured the permanent presidency of the Diet for Austria, a position to be discussed and the procedure to be adopted (pg. 39). The Diet did discuss in 1816 the creation of a single Germany, but nothing came of these discussions, mainly because of jealousy between the states, and especially between the two largest states, Austria and Prussia. A scheme for the building of Federal fortresses for the defence of Germany was also abandoned. Lastly, whenever fundamental laws of the Confederation or the Federative Act itself were to be enacted, th e Diet was expanded into a General Assembly of 69 members (pg. 30). Those elements in Germany who had looked forward to real unity, the Nationalists, were intensely disappointed by this state of affairs. The Liberals, who had hoped at least for elected parliaments and governments responsible to the people in each of the German states, leading on to a united Liberal Germany, were also frustrated. A certain number of the German princes did introduce more liberal forms of government, especially in Bavaria where in 1818 a parliament was set up which represented the peasants, townspeople and nobles, and also in Baden, Wurttemberg and Saxe-Weimar (James 1990). But the great majority of thirty-nine states were governed by their princes in alliance with a highly privileged class of nobility, and politically the middle and peasant classes were ignored (James 1990). It must not be thought that the majority of German people were clamouring at this time either for Liberalism or Nationalism in Germany (James 1990). There were scarcely interested. Liberalism had its strongest hold amongst the intellectual class of writers, poets, scholars, university professors, lecturers and students. In the universities of Germany a number of student movements developed in these years, such as the Gymnastic Clubs and Students' Unions or Burschenschaften2,